Drafter

Clerk 11/18/2020

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AN ORDINANCE that adopts the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget and makes appropriations for the operation of county agencies and departments and capital improvements for the fiscal biennium beginning January 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2022.

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PREAMBLE:

King County has an established record of fiscal responsibility, and this budget upholds that policy while also advancing the principles that define us, which are equity and social justice, housing those in need and increasing the availability of affordable housing, investing in mental and behavioral health, protecting our environment and ensuring the safety and health of all of the public.  This budget continues the strong fiscal management that has led to the county's AAA credit rating while facing the financial crisis associated with coronavirus disease 2019 that is expected to last for most if not all of the coming biennium.

King County is not immune to suffering from the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.  The county's revenues have in many cases decreased at a time when the service needs of the community are increasing dramatically, particularly in mental and behavioral health.  Despite the inability of the elected officials in the "other" Washington to negotiate an additional aid package to state and local governments through the country, King County continues to lead by placing the needs of the community at the top of our budgeting priorities.

We applaud the executive and the executive's team for transmitting a budget that advances the county's mission in the face of coronavirus disease 2019.  The executive's divest, invest and reimagine plan will transform the criminal legal system, taking a strong antiracism stance and funding cutting-edge programs to take this work into the future.  The executive prioritizes combatting climate change and addresses infrastructure needs.

Black lives matter to King County, and this budget invests a significant amount of critical funding into the urban unincorporated areas with the highest populations of our Black, Indigenous and Persons of Color, also known as BIPOC, neighbors.  This budget also advances the county's mission of equity and social justice in further ways by thoughtfully and efficiently reforming our criminal legal and juvenile justice system in partnering with community-based organizations to improve the lives of at-risk youth, interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and committing funding for accessibility and inclusion of county services for people with disabilities.

During this tumultuous time caused by coronavirus disease 2019, we have taken a hard look at our transit operations to ensure people who need access to mobility have been able to get to where they need to go.  At the same time, this budget lays out a solid framework and makes necessary investments to ensure our transit system provides affordable, convenient and equitable access throughout the county and remains one of the best in the nation and remains poised to grow when this crisis is behind us.

This budget also includes difficult budget reductions to most departments, many of them already overburdened by the inadequacies of state and federal support and regulation.  Recognizing the intense and dire effects of coronavirus disease 2019 on mental and behavioral health, drug and alcohol dependency, domestic violence and housing instability, every effort was made to minimize reduction of these even more critical services.  This includes using rainy day reserves, specific emergency funds that the county has never before used, to shore up services to the county's most vulnerable.

This budget also includes investments throughout all the council districts, including requiring development of a sustainability plan for roads and local government services in unincorporated King County as well as a thoughtful and collaborative approach addressing specific projects and needs in every corner of the county.

This budget has been discussed, negotiated and adopted through hard work, shared values, extensive collaboration and the kind of consensus-based negotiations necessary to deliver innovation and strategies in a constrained revenue environment.  The policies contained within this budget will drive the policy decisions facing the county for years to come.

                     BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:

                     SECTION 1.  The 2021-2022 Biennial Budget is adopted and, subject to the provisions hereinafter set forth and the several amounts hereinafter specified or so much thereof as shall be sufficient to accomplish the purposes designated, appropriations are hereby authorized to be distributed for salaries, wages and other expenses of the various agencies and departments of King County, for capital improvements and for other specified purposes for the fiscal biennium beginning January 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2022, out of the funds of the county hereinafter named and set forth in the following sections.

                     SECTION 2.  The fund appropriations are sums to cover merit pay and labor settlements.  The county executive is authorized to distribute the required portions of these moneys among the affected positions in each operating fund beginning January 1, 2021.

                     SECTION 3.  Notwithstanding sections 1 and 2 of this ordinance, section 129 of this ordinance takes effect ten days after the executive's approval of this ordinance, as provided in the King County Charter.

                     SECTION 4.  The definition in this section applies throughout this ordinance unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

                     "FTEs" means full-time equivalents.

                     SECTION 5.  COUNTY COUNCIL - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     County council                     $4,112,000

The maximum number of FTEs for county council shall be:                     9.0

                     SECTION 6.  COUNCIL ADMINISTRATION - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     Council administration                     $34,370,000

The maximum number of FTEs for council administration shall be:                     102.1

                     SECTION 7.  HEARING EXAMINER - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     Hearing examiner                     $1,251,000

The maximum number of FTEs for hearing examiner shall be:                     3.0

                     SECTION 8.  COUNTY AUDITOR - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     County auditor                     $5,235,000

The maximum number of FTEs for county auditor shall be:                     17.3

                     SECTION 9.  OMBUDS/TAX ADVISOR - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     Ombuds/tax advisor                     $3,671,000

The maximum number of FTEs for ombuds/tax advisor shall be:                     10.5

                     SECTION 10.  KING COUNTY CIVIC TELEVISION - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     King County civic television                     $1,576,000

The maximum number of FTEs for King County civic television shall be:                     5.0

                     ER1 EXPENDITURE RESTRICTION:

                     Of this appropriation, $80,000 shall be expended or encumbered solely for live captioning of council meetings.

                     SECTION 11.  BOARD OF APPEALS - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     Board of appeals                     $1,731,000

The maximum number of FTEs for board of appeals shall be:                     3.5

                     SECTION 12.  OFFICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     Office of law enforcement oversight                     $2,873,000

The maximum number of FTEs for office of law enforcement oversight shall be:                     7.0

                     SECTION 13.  DISTRICTING COMMITTEE - From the general fund there is hereby appropriated to:

                     Districting committee                     $110,000